Sarah A. HahnGeography101 I010 Win 12American Public University

Professor Ivan Welch

Germany and it’s

Delicious Foods

Introduction is located in Central Europe, bordering The Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland south of Denmark. Germany is the sixth largest country in Europe with 16 states.

Introduction

Germany is located in Central

Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea

and the North Sea, between the

Netherlands and Poland, south

of Denmark. It is the sixth

largest country in Europe with

16 states. Germany is one of the most

beautiful countries in the world

and full of diverse culture and

rich heritage. Germany is known

for so much but one thing in

particular is definitely it’s food.

Mainz is my home ;-)

Introduction Germany is full of culinary delights and

known for their beer, festivities, food

specialties and entertainment.

Being that my mother is German and I have

lived there for 15 years; I know all about just

how much Germany has to offer and how

wonderful the food is. I know many dishes do

not look too appetizing but you can’t judge a

book by it’s cover. If you are reluctant to try

many German dishes due to the fact of it’s

appeal, you will miss out on some of the best

cuisine. German cuisine has been labeled as very

fatty but bordering close to Italy and France

has worked in it’s favor because they were

able to adopt many of their spices and

cooking methods over the last 200 years but

reform it into their own way.

There are 3 major regions in Germany:

The North German PlainThe Central UplandsThe Alpine Foreland

Regions

The North German plain is made up of the major

geographical regions. It shares borders with the coasts

of the North sea and Baltic sea. In this region lies

some of the major rivers to include the Rhine, Ems, and Elbe river.

The Rhine river

The Central uplands stretch all the way from France to Poland and to Czech. Within this region are many forests and valleys such as the Taunus forest , Black and Bavarian forest.

The Black Forest

Regions

Last but not least is the Alpine Foreland region. This region is right in between Bavaria Swabia and Baden- Württemberg on the west side and the Salzach river on the east. The great city of Munich lies right in the heart of it all. The Alpine Foreland is made up of plateaus and rolling foothills with major rivers such as the Isar, Inn, and Lech river.

Regions

German

cuisine

varies from

region to

region

based on

the

geography.

The type of

cuisine

served in

the

mountainou

s areas will

not be the

same as the

cuisine

served in

the regions

in close

proximity of

water.

RegionsPickled

Herring.

Yummy!

Although food varies per region many dishes are still eaten nationwide. The North and Baltic Seas provide more fish for the northern region such as pickled herring, ( which I love) trout, salmon, and fresh sardines. Beef, goose, and lamb are also eaten in the north while things such as pretzels, noodles, potatoes and dumplings are more common in the south. Pork is the most common meat ate all throughout Germany but in the form of sausages. There are so many different types of sausages but called wurst in Germany; such as Rohwurst, Teewurst, Bratwurst, and Mettwurst. Every single one of these I am accustomed to and love.

Regions

Did you know that German Americans are one of America’s most significant

ethnic groups? Germans have influenced America’s cuisine in

numerous ways. Germans brought their food to the states to help transition easily and make good

relations with Americans.

Cultural Diffusion

German immigrants living in New York in the early 1900’s

Germans have brought so many different types of food to America that it is impossible to list. Some of the food the German immigrants brought included beets, cabbage, ham, herring, sour cream, sausage, rye bread and potatoes. German cooking has been around for so long that many do not even notice how much it is incorporated into American culture such as the jelly doughnut, pretzels and even frankfurters. Jelly doughnuts by the way are called “Berliners” where I am from.

Cultural Diffusion

Spargel & Potatoes

Knödel

Milchreis mit Cinamon

Here are a few of

my favorite dishes.

It is so hard to

chose just a few

when there are so

many, But I use to

love when my

mother would

prepare these

dishes and every

time I go back to

Germany she

already knows

exactly what to

make me.

Cultural diffusion

Germany is definitely know for its over the top deliciously fine deserts and bakeries!

Cultural Diffusion

Pastries and deserts are enjoyed morning and afternoon, often with coffee.

~2 of my siblings~ I am proud to say

that Germans really

do embrace their

heritage and they

show it in numerous

ways. Cultural

landscape is not

only defined as

buildings, gardens

and roads but also

by modes of dress,

smells of food and

even sounds of

music. I have one

thing that comes to

mind when I hear

this and that is the

tradition we

celebrate called

“FASCHING!” My

family and I

celebrate it every

year.

Cultural landscape

Fasching goes as far back to the Romans. It celebrates the end of winter and coming of spring and is months long.

 locals celebrate Fasching by dressing up in costumes, attending masquerade balls and sit-down affairs where speakers comment on politics and other matters in comic rhymes, and celebrating at parades in cities throughout Germany. 

During the parades beer and wine is handed out by the float, along with large pretzels and baked goods. German music is played loudly throughout the streets and the streets are filled with the smell of German food, happy people dancing and giving strangers hugs and kisses. I love it!

The expression used during Fasching is “Hellauuu”.

Cultural landscape

Germany is also known for its beautiful castles all around the country. So much history exists in all of them and even in grade school our field trips consisted of visiting multiple cultural landscapes to include many castles, the oldest cities like Röthenburg and beautiful gardens.

Schwetzingen Castle Linderhof Castle

Cultural landscapes

Distance decay is a decrease in similarity the farther things are apart. This is seen with many different ethnic cuisines especially if brought over to another land.

Today German-Americans still eat traditional German dishes which, over time, were adapted to accommodate local ingredients.

Distance decay

I have been to many places that have sold German food and once I have tried it, it is nothing like the authentic German food. For example sauerkraut tastes differently and even the bratwursts made in America are just not like the ones in Germany. Bread is a major part in German food and the so –called German pastries as well as rolls are not even relatively close coming from a native German. If you want some real, authentic German cuisine the best place is to visit the beautiful country itself…Germany!

Distance decay

http://www.wiesbaden.army.mil/sites/about/ttd/fasching.htm

http://lawrence-koppy.suite101.com/the-foods-of-germany-that-changed-america-a218513

http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_geography.htm

http://www.mapsofworld.com/germany/regions/

http://germanfood.about.com/od/introtogermanfood/a/introtoger.htm

http://briansmith.suite101.com/german-cuisine-a78828

References

De Blij, H.J, & Muller, P.O. (2010). Regions: Geography Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 14E, 22. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons